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$20-Million Gift Will Bolster Engineering at U. of San Diego

The Chronicle of Philanthropy -- The University of San Diego will use a $20-million gift from the philanthropist Darlene Shiley to transform its engineering department into a full-fledged school, boosting its profile in a fast-growing academic field, the San Diego Union-Tribune writes.

Ms. Shiley’s husband, Donald, who died in 2010, was one of the world’s first bioengineers and invented heart valves that went into wide use in the 1970s, revolutionizing cardiac care. The couple earlier gave the university a total of $13.5-million for science, technology, and arts programs. (Full Story)